By CHRIS HOBBS
HobbsDailyReport.com
Previewing tonight’s first round 2AA state football playoff games involving teams from the South Fork 2A and Northwestern Foothills 2A (all seeds are in the West bracket and all statistical references are unofficial totals):
2AA
No. 12 FRED T. FOARD (8-3) at No. 5 MAIDEN (11-0), 7:30 p.m.
It’s a rematch of a season-opener won 37-14 at Foard when Maiden QB Keygan Mayfield threw for three scores (twice to WR Caleb McDaniel) and ran for another.
The Tigers have built their season around togetherness and maximizing their 1-2-3 punch of QB Jack Colosimo and RBs Tate Beaver and Corey Siemer. They’ll certainly have to tap into that and play well to get a big gorilla off their collective backs.
Foard and Maiden have met 36 times since 1980 with Maiden winning 32 times. That includes seven straight over the Tigers and wins in 29 of their last 30 matchups.
Foard has two wins in Maiden, the last by 47-14 in 2008 on a night when RB Quinton Owens ran for three scores and returned an interception for another TD (the other was 14-10 in 1982).
Maiden — playing its 90th postseason game (50-39) — is 32-17 at home in the state playoffs and in the postseason for the 22nd consecutive year (also 27 of 28 and 30 of 32).
Foard’s making its 14th postseason appearance – 10 have come since 1995 – but hasn’t won a state playoff game since beating Southwest Guilford on the road for the Division II 2A title in 1982.
The Tigers have dropped 11 straight playoff openers, and the Blue Devils have been gone after one round in three of their last five postseason trips and in six of their last nine.
For the history buffs, it’s the fourth time for a Catawba County vs. Catawba County playoff matchup for Maiden … the other three were all second-rounders against Newton-Conover (2005-07).
Next up: The winner plays No. 13 East Lincoln or No. 4 Mount Pleasant. The game would be at Maiden or Foard if East Lincoln wins. If Mount Pleasant wins, tonight’s winner goes there for the second round game.
No. 15 BANDYS (5-6) at No. 2 HIBRITEN (11-0), 7:30 p.m.
It will take perhaps Bandys’ best game of the season for the start of the Trojans’ 23rd state playoff bid – and their continued success on Hibriten’s field – to continue.
Two of their games are classics – Bandys won a state semifinal at Hibriten 20-13 in 2003 and returned the next year to beat the Panthers 16-10 in the second round – but, on paper, they aren’t as closely matched this season.
The Panthers are 25-1 in their last 26 games, coming off making last year’s 3A semifinals and again stocked with such balance that mentioning a No. 1 guy is difficult (although it would probably be RB McKinley Witherspoon).
Bandys, which has won two straight over Hibriten, six of their seven games in the series in Lenoir and 12 of the 14 all-time battles, is led by RB Ethan Howard (218-1,384, 12 TDs) and Ja’Tay Culliver (47-612 rushing, 9 TDs; 13-414 receiving, 4 TDs).
Big plays and in-your-face defense with zero turnovers might be the Trojans’ only chance to make a game of it tonight. If they do, count on Culliver having made some big plays – the average yardage of his 18 scores is 47.1 yards, and 15 of the Trojans’ TDs this season have gone for 41 or more yards.
Hibriten has plenty of motivation to dispense of Bandys and move on … the Panthers, making their 20th playoff bid and 16th straight, can reach 12 wins for the seventh time in school history.
Panthers head coach Clay Lewis is coaching his eighth state playoff team, tying him for most by a Hibriten boss with former head coach Chuck Cannon.
Bandys is 33-22 in the postseason, including 12-14 on the road, and Hibriten is 25-18 and has won 20 of 27 played in Lenoir.
The Trojans have not won a postseason game since 2012 (beat Newton-Conover on the road in the second round).
Next up: The winner faces No. 10 Patton or No. 7 North Surry. Bandys would go on the road and Hibriten would stay home for the second round.
No. 9 NEWTON-CONOVER (9-2) at No. 8 SHELBY (9-2), 7:30 p.m.
It’s been a long time since the Red Devils played a state playoff game in Shelby, and the last one – Red Devils 3, Golden Lions 0 in 1977 – is one of the games longtime fans still talk about.
The game could find a place in the conversation as the best first-round game in the state because these are two excellent football teams.
Shelby has won four state titles in a row and has some significant offensive threats back in the lineup – senior QB Malik Sarratt (136-228-5 for 1,806 yards, 15 TDs), RB Xavier Brooks (187-1,030, 14 TDs) and WR Tucker Greene (24-483, 5 TDs) are the leaders.
The Red Devils can score with the best of them, sparked by QB Shamar Baker and WR Jaheim Mullen. It’s unclear if RB Tylor Stinson will return … he has missed the last three games and school officials have indicated only that he’s sidelined because he violated a team rule. If the Red Devils get him back, that would be a plus for their offense.
Newton-Conover is playing in its 53rd playoff game since 1974 and is 8-13 on the road in postseason games over that span, with the last playoff win in 2012 over Ashe County and the last road win in 2009, a third-round game at East Lincoln.
Next up: The winner plays No. 16 West Iredell or No. 1 South Point. If it’s West Iredell, the winner stays home for the second round. If it’s South Point, a trip to Belmont is next.
No. 10 PATTON (8-3) at No. 7 NORTH SURRY (10-1), 7:30 p.m.
Patton, making its third straight trip to the state playoffs, has a chance to win and reach nine of them for the first time in school history.
Last year’s Panthers went 8-5, and year No. 10 of varsity football at the Morganton school has been one of its best.
Patton was hit hard by injuries early – QB Joe Eakin and RB William Brawley among them – and didn’t fade as the Panthers have helped head coach Tom Eanes approach 150 career wins (147-85-1).
North Surry won the Western Piedmont 2A title and, after losing 42-10 to Mount Airy, reeled off six straight wins.
Sophomore QB Chase Swartz has thrown for 1,691 yards and 16 TDs, senior RB Sammy McMillian has 924 rushing yards and 10 TDs and senior WR Nick Badgett has 26 catches – six of them for scores – and 726 receiving yards.
Next up: The winner faces No. 15 Bandys or No. 2 Hibriten. Bandys would travel to tonight’s winner and Hibriten would be the home team for the second round game.
No. 13 EAST LINCOLN (6-5) at No. 4 MOUNT PLEASANT (9-2), 7:30 p.m.
The Mustangs, state 2A champions in 2012 and state 2AA champions in 2014, are making their 13th straight state playoff appearance and 22nd in school history.
This year’s team, which started 0-3, is led by QB Chase Jones and RB Chandler Jones on offense and Daniel Herring and Ryan Matz on defense.
The Tigers have won five straight since losing to Concord Robinson and their only other loss was by one point to Concord.
Junior QB Chance Daqulia (86-158-6 for 1,511 yards, 16 TDs), senior WR Landon Parker (42-1,015, 13 TDs) and junior RB Garrett Overbay (164-1,103, 6 TDs) lead a 400-point offense (403-111 scoring/scoring defense this year).
Next up: The winner plays No. 12 Fred T. Foard or No. 5 Maiden. East Lincoln would travel in the second round and Mount Pleasant would be at home.
No. 16 WEST IREDELL (5-6) at No. 1 SOUTH POINT (11-0), 7:30 p.m.
If the Warriors are going to make something of gaining their first state playoff bid since 2008, they’ll have to start at the top.
Both schools moved down from 3A to 2A in statewide realignment, South Point after having won last year’s state 3A title.
Part of the difficulty facing West Iredell is they are headed to play in Belmont, where sellout crowds are the norm, and the Red Raiders always have a skilled offense (outscored opponents 505-69 this season). And when that crowd gets behind them, they can score a lot of points quickly.
This is West Iredell’s first 2A bid since 2004 and its 12th postseason appearance overall.
A win, which would put Warriors head coach Monte Simmons at 9-25, would be H-U-G-E.
West Iredell hasn’t been in a second round playoff football game since 2007, after beating High Point Central in the first round.
Next up: The winner meets No. 9 Newton-Conover or No. 8 Shelby. If West Iredell wins, it goes on the road. If South Point wins, the Red Devils or Golden Lions come to Belmont.